Hanging Love
by M. E. Gryphon
Summary: Sarah was killed in a car crash, her best friend is left with a small red book and no answers. Until she finds them herself. She wishes herself away, finding a very much real Jareth. I'm really bad at summaries. R&R. Rated for later chapters, perhaps.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Alright, I don't have an editor, yet. Sorry if I make any grammatical or any other errors in the fic. I do not own Jareth, Toby, Sarah, The Labyrinth, or anything else that's related to the movie. I own Takibi, Samantha, and her house so far. This is not my first Fanfic, I kind of gave up on the other one. This fic is rated for chapters to come and just in case I post anything excruciatingly bad.

"Bye, Takibi." A small boy looked up at the fourteen year old.

"Bye, Toby." Takibi grinned at the six year old. "Practice your form and remember to kick higher for your roundhouse kick, alright?" She asked as she ruffled the boy's hair.

"Takibi, is Toby doing alright?" 'Tobys mother asked as Takibi gathered her helmet and back pack.

"He's doing great, Mrs. Williams. He just need to practice his form a little bit and he'll be fine." Takibi grinned.

"Please, call me Karen. And thank you, so much. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"See you then..Karen," Takibi smiled and brought her bike outside of the Tae Kwon Do school before putting on her helmet.

It was going to be fun heading home. There was no one at the house and she would be able to go on the computer and write another story without interruption. She hoped, anyways. Her hazel eyes twinkled in excitement as clouds began to form above, she loved the rain. Her mother got fussy if she was out in the rain too long, always said that she'd get sick or get hit by lightning. Whatever was Takibi's usual response.

Today, she was going to go ride slowly home and get soaking wet. She gave one last wave to the people at the dojang and bowed a bit clumsily towards the Grand Master before pedaling down the sidewalk. With each downward stroke of her right leg, a buckle from her black jeans would click against the metal flame of the bike. Her converse tennis shoes were glued to the pedals as she picked up her pace. She may love the rain, but she wasn't stupid.

The driver's out here in Great Falls, Virginia, were idiots. She knew this, quite well. She pedaled quickly across the road, checking for any signals from any cars and found none. Soon, she was home. A downpour had started and her t-shirt was sticking to her skin, thankfully she had worn undergarments and nothing embarrassing was revealed.

"Heya, Samantha." She said to the black and white Newfoundland as she walked into the house. "How ya doing buddy?" She asked, ruffling the slobber dog's face.

The dog howled in respond, Takibi chuckled and headed into the kitchen. She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, one hand on each side of the sink. Her friend, Sarah, had been Toby's sister. That was, before she died. Sarah had been hit by a car, on the very road that Takibi took daily. It had been a night, much like this one, and the driver claimed he didn't see her. Yeah right, the bastard. The driver had been a Junior at their high school. He was someone that teased them daily and tried to beat up Takibi. Boy had he made a mistake.

He went home, crying to his mother after she kicked him hard in the nuts and sent him flying into a wall. She always blamed herself for what happened to Sarah. She felt that if she hadn't had beat the crap out of Joseph she would still be alive. Takibi looked up and out the window, lightning crackling over the dark sky. She sighed and headed for her room. She got dressed for the night and fell asleep.

She woke up to a wet lick in the face. She wasn't surprised to see Samantha's wet nose nudging her face. She laughed and sat up, scratching the dog behind the ears before standing and dressing into black pants and a white loose poet's shirt. She sighed and walked over to her dresser, Samantha close on her heels. She stared at a small red book entitled 'The Labyrinth' which laid on the wooden surface.

She had read the story, time and time again. She had known about Sarah's obsession with the book, but it quickly stopped for an unknown reason after one strange weekend when Sarah's parents had been out for dinner. Then, an idea struck her. She grinned, wickedly, and scanned through the pages of the Labyrinth before heading into the office and sat down at her Macintosh G5 which she had stolen from her father. It was still his, but he never used it.

Quickly, she began to type. She forgot about what time it was or how hungry she had been when she had gotten home. She had forgotten about life itself and was so thrown into her story that she didn't realize a white owl was sitting calmly outside her window.

"One night Sarah was so fed up with her baby brother that she wished him away to the goblins." She began to read out loud. The entire story, exactly how it had happened, spilled out of her mouth and onto the computer and into the printer. When she finished, she grinned.

"There really is a Goblin King named Jareth. He likes to wear extremely tight pants and look evil. But inside, he loved the girl named Sarah but she didn't know it. And when she died, he was lost." She sighed as she took the one inch thick story off of the computer. "Who knows, I might be right and I might not be."

She looked at Samantha who had curled up underneath her desk. She chuckled lightly before looking outside. When she saw the owl, her lips turned into a grin and she knew. She opened the door and he took off yet a bit slower then a normal owl would.

"Wait!" Takibi called after him, but it was too late.

She sighed and went back into the house, not noticing that it had begun to rain. With a red pen in hand, she began to look over the story to edit it. She was surprised that she had found no errors whatsoever. She tapped the pen to her pale lips and leaned back in her chair.

"I wish the goblins would take me away, right now." She said suddenly. She looked confused. 'Why the heck did I say that?' She wondered to herself.

When she found herself sitting in the middle of a throne room instead of her chair, she knew. She was prone to faint, and seeing the man in front of her with wild blonde hair and mismatched eyes caused her to panic slightly. 'So he is real...' She thought right before blackness consumed her sight.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm really excited and hyper for no reason. I have to get this chapter up. Will edit later. Promise. I can't think straight with my bird screeching in my ear, he won't shut up.

Jareth cursed as he watched the girl crumble to the ground. His eyes narrowed considerably as he watched a goblin stumble over with a mug of ale. With one sweeping move, Jareth kicked the goblin to the side and he began to circle the pit Toby had once sat in. Now, it held his lost love's friend. Maybe she knew of Sarah's disappearance. Something inside of him told him she was dead. He refused to believe.

Yet the girl in front of him. She looked so much like his dear Sarah. He scowled at himself for thinking such a thing. He sighed and slumped onto his throne, swinging one leg over the arm out of habit. This girl, the friend of Sarah, knew about the Labyrinth and its encounter with Sarah. She knew, she wrote an entire story about it.

A gloved finger brushed his lips as he began to think to himself, eyes glaring at one goblin who was cleaning his boot. The only filth on it was goblin. It didn't make much sense for a goblin to clean goblin off of a boot did it? He was allowing his mind to take him someplace other then the girl in front of him. Some would call him mad. He couldn't stay on one subject long without frustration building up.

Yet his attention was immediately drawn to the girl as she slowly woke up and snarled towards the goblin. Wait, snarl? He examined the girl closely, leaning forwards in his throne. The corners of his mouth turned up into a grin as he leaned back into his chair. Ahh, did she not know of what she was? She obviously did not as she looked around, confused.

"You." Those words struck Jareth's ears cold as she spotted him.

"Yes?" He merely replied, sneering ever so slightly.

"You know Sarah, don't you." That grabbed his attention. It was as if a hand had wrapped around his throat and heaved him to his feet. He merely nodded. "She came here, didn't she?" Again, a nod. "And you are the Goblin King." Her eyes narrowed as a hesitant nod came. "Jareth, the Goblin King." A nod once more. He couldn't speak, for some absurd reason.

"You don't look much." The grip around his throat loosened and he regained his voice.

"I beg your pardon?" He stammered.

"That got you to speak." She said, standing. "My name is Takibi, I already know yours so I don't think a proper introduction is needed at the moment."

"Do you know where Sarah is?" He cut in.

The desperate look in his eyes combined with his question obviously hit home, he saw it in her eyes. She didn't say anything for a very long time, clearing her throat every so often as she opened her mouth to speak.

"She's dead. She was hit...hit by an idiot a couple months ago." She sighed.

His surroundings began to go blurry as he slumped back into his throne. His finger traced his jaw-line subconsciously as he thought about it. He already knew that that happened. He refused to accept it at that time and now it was served on a silver platter. He sighed and placed his head in his hand. The tears would not come yet he was truly destroyed.

"I'm sorry." He looked towards her, he saw how sorry she really was. He saw the pain in her very eyes that was entangling their minds. He sighed and turned away.

"A goblin will show you to your room. You are to stay here, until I release you." He saw her mouth open in protest but it quickly closed as he glared. He saw something else in her eyes but it quickly disappeared to fast for him to realize what it was. He watched her go, following one of the 'sober' goblins down the hall to his right. "Oh, bloody hell." He sighed, rubbing his temples as he stood. He left the throne room without another word, heading for his bed chambers.

AN: Yes, I know it's short. The other chapters should be a bit longer.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Three chapters in a day! Tomorrow will be a lot of editing.

Takibi sighed as she sat on her 'assigned' bed. Her eyes narrowed immensely as she looked at the darkly painted room. She sighed and laid back on the bed to stare at the dark blue painted ceiling. She was screwed. Apart from the fact that she was attracted to the Goblin King, she was pretty much screwed.

She jumped as she heard glass shattering in the throne room and a couple goblins who began to yell out in terror. She got to her feet quickly when she heard her door open and watched as the Goblin King walked over to her to stop only inches in front of her. She tried hard not to shudder, keeping her face emotionless as she looked up at him with determined eyes.

"You remind me so much of Sarah..." He sighed, reaching up with a gloved hand to allow his fingers to trail down her cheek. That's when she shuddered and he pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry." he said, turning around.

"It's...Alright." She said, sighing as she stared at the ground.

"You teach Toby, don't you?" He asked, turning around once more. Now her view was the tip of his boots. She merely nodded. "Did you know Sarah, well?" Again, a nod. "Look at me." His voice wavered slightly and she was forced to look up at him. "Then you know that she was a beautiful person with a kind heart then, correct?"

"Yes, why are you asking me these questions?" She asked, watching him.

"I don't know..." He stepped back and sighed. "I'll see you in a couple years."

Takibi awoke with a deep breath and found herself in her house. She was breathing heavily, sweat allowing her pajamas to stick to her skin. For some reason, she knew all of that had not been a dream. She slipped out of bed and hurried towards the office. In the place where she had put the story was a letter. Hesitantly she reached forward and opened it. There was nothing written on the paper inside.

She raised an eyebrow and sighed, putting the letter in a box next to her computer. She would keep it there until the letter revealed itself. It would, seven years later.

Now, at the age of twenty-one, Takibi sat at her desk filing through papers. She lived in an apartment in Reston, a mere minutes drive from Great Falls. She had forgotten about Jareth and had almost forgotten about Sarah. She had grown into a beautiful woman. Her age and maturity often made people give second glances towards her, it made it easier for her to get jobs.

At the moment, she was a Tae Kwon Do instructor and worked at a large Dojang in Reston where she worked with kids of all ages. She had trouble with the young ones and usually lost patience with the older kids but she was slowly learning how to act. She had gotten her fourth degree black belt and had gotten into Nationals more then once, usually getting third or second. She aimed for first but it was harder then it looked.

Now she was looking through all of her junk she had kept since she was a kid. When a small box appeared at the bottom of her drawer, she grew wide eyed. Slowly she opened it. There, nestled in the box covered with dust, was a letter. She reached in and opened it, staring at the writing on the paper.

_I'm waiting for you_

Apart from the fact that she was literally freaked out, Takibi merely sat down to stare at the letter. She reread it about a million times, trying to figure out who the hell had sent this. Then, it hit her. Memories flooded into her mind with such force it created a throbbing headache at the tip of her forehead. She winced, rubbing her temples with her fingers before she felt a hand brush down the side of her cheek. She looked around, there was no one there.

She sighed, pushing aside the fact that she felt eyes upon her. She glanced at the clock and cursed, she was late. She slipped on her running shoes, her back pack filled with her Tae Kwon Do necessities all inside. She gave one last glance around the room, a dark shadow in the corner caused her to shiver as she headed out of her bedroom. She quickly left the small apartment and literally sprinted down the stairs and out of the apartment complex.

It was night, she usually taught the eight o'clock classes. Shifting the backpack's straps, she took off at a light jog towards the dark bike run covered by trees. She shivered slightly and hurried down the road. She didn't have a good feeling about this. The snap of a tree limb set her off at a sprint down the road. She heard heavy footsteps behind her and ran faster.

Someone slammed into her back, sending her skidding face first onto the pavement. Luckily, she only scratched her arms. She rolled over to find a heavy man on top of her literally drooling over her. He was straddling her waist and was fighting to gain control of her arms. She yelled out and her mouth was clamped shut by a big hand. She screamed into his hand as he tried to take off her pants.

Just as she was about to raise her leg and kick him in the back of the head. Someone heaved the man off of her. She tried to get up but was pushed back down by an invisible force. There was a yell then a loud thump, a hand slightly grabbed her ankle before her surroundings disappeared to be replaced by the same room she had been assigned seven years ago.

She looked over to her left and saw an unconscious Jareth laying in a bloody mess on the floor. She quickly got up and went over to him, kneeling next to him to inspect his wounds.

"Shit." She muttered, his chest held three gashes caused by a dagger or a knife of some kind. They were bleeding heavily. "Oh, god." She panicked, placing a hand on his arm. Her hand began to glow a deep red and the wounds began to disappear. Her eyes widened and Jareth's hand went up behind her head. "What are you doing?" She asked as his eyes opened.

He merely brought her head down and pressed his lips against hers. With his free arm he wrapped it around her waist and brought her on top of him. Her eyes widened slightly yet she did not pull away. Once he let her go she stumbled backwards and he sat up.

"You aren't a human." He said, calmly.

"Like hell I'm not." She said, panicking slightly. "You kiss me and you tell me I'm not human!"

"You healed me and saved my life with magic." He began to explain. "It takes a species other then human to get that to happen. I'm guessing you're a wolf demon." He sat up and she backed up even more. "You've grown." He said, smiling slightly.

She felt uncomfortable and rubbed her arm slightly as she watched him. 'A demon? A wolf demon!' She thought, being both freaked out and excited. She merely stared at him, his words merely going through one ear and out the other. She wasn't very surprised when darkness surrounded her and she fell into waiting arms.

AN: Meh...It sucks but oh well, going to edit it soon.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I really need to go over the chapters a million times. But, I can't do that until I have the entire story down. Heh, it's just the way I write. Anyways, I do not own Jareth or the Labyrinth or anything else other then Takibi, Samantha, and her house.

Takibi awoke in her apartment. She looked around, eyes narrowing. 'Love and being a wolf demon healed him!' She thought, upset as she sat up. 'How can I love a man if I don't even know him.' She sighed and got up, walking into the bathroom to splash water on her face. She stared at her reflection, eyes narrowed. 'And he bloody kissed me!' She groaned slightly and rested her forehead against the mirror. 'I'm screwed, big time.' She sighed. 'If only Sarah were here...He loves her, not me. He only kissed me because I reminded him of her.' Then, she grinned.

"Jareth, I know you're watching me." She said, looking around. "I know that wasn't a dream and frankly I'm a bit pissed off. So, if you will, I would like to talk to you." She heard tapping in the other room, her bedroom. Her eyes narrowed considerably as she walked out of her bathroom and into the bedroom. Sure enough, there was a white owl tapping on the window. She opened it and stepped to the side quickly. She wasn't very surprised when the owl morphed into Jareth. "You gave Sarah thirteen hours to go through the Labyrinth or her baby brother would be turned into a Goblin." She started. "I remind you of Sarah and that's what's blinding you. You kissed me only because you see Sarah in me. To proof to you that I am my own person and not Sarah I want to take on the challenge of the Labyrinth."

"I accept your challenge. You have thirteen hours to get to the castle. But, the Labyrinth changes after a while. It won't be the same path that Sarah took. And it won't be a sibling that stays at the castle if you lose, it will be you." The walls around them fell. Their new surroundings were an endless plain of dust and a towering stone wall. Gates were in front of them and they opened to a flick of Jareth's wrist. "And you're starting in a completely different area." He disappeared, his face emotionless.

Takibi glared at where he once stood before heading towards the gates. She had a feeling that there would be no Hoggle, Ludo, or Sir Diddymus to lead her. She jumped slightly when the gates slammed closed behind her. The only path that she could take was the one straight, there were no right turns or left turns, merely a straight eerie path. She walked calmly, her steps soundless. No sooner did she start did she hear something shift and crumble. She turned around, a wall was heading straight for her, blocking any escape route. That's when she began to panic.

She ran quickly, staying on her toes to keep her weight light. The wall behind her picked up the pace. She spotted a path to her right and darted into it. The wall stopped at the entrance of the path, blocking her from leaving. Her eyes narrowed and she turned around to look at her other options. There was a man in front of her, holding two swords. He was dressed in silver armor, hiding his identity. He flipped the second sword around, gripping it by the blade as he threw it, hilt first, towards her. She caught it, easily. There was a weapons class at her Tae Kwon Do and she loved taking it.

The man lunged forward, showing an exit behind him. Her sword met his as she pushed it away from her. She kicked him in the side while he was busy dealing with her sword. He stumbled backwards and raised his sword. She raised hers, watching him. She spun around in a fake, leaping to the side as his sword barely missed her side. She raised her sword to his neck.

"I win." She said, watching him as he dropped his sword. He took off his helmet to reveal wild blonde hair, mismatched eyes. She glared and hurled her sword to the ground. "You don't fence very well." She muttered as she headed towards the exit. Jareth said something behind her. "Can't hear you." She growled as she found herself in a large courtyard with many choices of paths.

She could barely see the castle over the top of the walls and headed towards the path that seemed to promise that it led to the castle. She stopped and turned around. 'Nothing is what it seems...' She thought as she headed towards the opposite path. She already wasted an hour, she had twelve left. She sighed and followed her new path. It twisted and turned before it dropped straight down. She stopped at the edge, looking across where the path started once more. It was at least six feet across. She gritted her teeth and backed up before running forward. Once her feet touched the edge she jumped. Her stomach slammed into the edge of where the path started.

She winced and began to slip, luckily her hands grabbed the edge and heaved herself onto the path. 'I'm so going to kill Jareth once I'm done.' She thought as she began to run down the path. She had eleven hours left. She sighed and continued until she came across a dead end. There were two holes in the ground. 'Great...' She thought sarcastically as she looked down both of them. One looked like it went endlessly and the other held a type of bright light at the bottom. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the one that went on endlessly. Looks could be deceiving.

She winced as she was thrown into a wall and left to crumble to the ground in a gasp. She held her shoulder tightly, blood trickling down to stain her white shirt. 'I am definitely going to kill him' She thought angrily as she got to her feet. She stared at the wall she had run into, there were jagged pieces of glass glued to the stone. She stood up and looked around, there was another path to the left of the wall. She took it and ran straight into Jareth who was grinning Mischievously.

"How do you like my Labyrinth." He asked, putting a hand on the wall right next to her. Her eyes narrowed, not a trickle of fear showing on her face.

"Once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake." She just realized she made a mistake when Jareth grinned and a clock appeared.

"Oh? How about we up the stakes a bit." He said, twirling his finger around clockwise as the hours she had left minimized.

"Go to hell, Jareth. I'm not going to stay here." She said with a snarl.

"I don't think you have a choice. Didn't you enjoy the kiss?" He asked, a bit of anger showing through his eyes.

"No, it was meant for someone else, not me. It was meant for Sarah." He winced and she pushed past him and continued to walk. She now had four hours left. "Bloody hell..." She muttered as she began to run.

Spotting a ladder as the only way out, she began to climb. She pushed open a trap door and found herself a bit closer to the castle yet in another courtyard with more paths. She grumbled a couple curses and took a random path, hoping it was the correct one. The hours went by until she had one left. He was cheating, she knew it. Illusions were everywhere, she was being led in circles until Jareth appeared with a smirk on his face.

"You're mine." He said, the clock appearing next to him.

"You cheated." She snapped, Jareth's eyes narrowed.

"You will be a servant in my castle. You're lucky I won't turn you into a goblin." He said angrily as he transported them back to the castle and into a small room with only a bed roll and nothing else. "This is your room." He said, leaving.

'What happened to the other room?' She wondered to herself as she slumped to the door. Once she made sure he was gone she began to cry. It would be two years later when things would change. In those two years she worked for Jareth. She cleaned his room, the throne room, cooked breakfast, etc. But secretly she trained her 'powers' in which she had found shortly after becoming a servant. Her emotions and personality changed considerably. Now she walked around emotionlessly and only showed anger towards Jareth and never smiled. Jareth saw his mistake and tried to fix it...Two years later.

AN: Yeah, it sucks, lol. Like the other chapters but hey, I'm practicing...Sort of. But, the romance I promised you all will be here sooner then you think.


	5. Chapter 5

A ball of fire slammed into the wall, not too far away from Jareth's ear. He looked up from the papers on his desk to stare at the large white wolf in front of him. He raised a questioning eyebrow and put down the piece of paper in his hands. The wolf looked pissed off, judging by the slight snarl on her muzzle.

"What is it, Takibi?" Jareth asked rather tiredly.

"The goblins have filled my room with the Castle's waste." She said, rather flatly and bitterly.

Jareth looked slightly amused, curious as to how they had managed that.

"They brought most of it in buckets." Takibi said, as if she had read his mind.

"Well then, you'll just have to sleep in the throne room." Jareth simply.

"What about a room?" She asked, it was obvious she had lack of sleep even on the so called 'soft' bedroll.

"We're having guests tomorrow." Jareth explained. "You'll have to make due with the pillows in the pit in the throne room. Just sleep there, it isn't as uncomfortable as it looks."

The wolf snarled, audibly, before turning around to trot out of the room. Jareth merely smirked, the goblins had successfully filled out his orders for the first time in decades. He leaned back in his chair, the pen on his desk floated in the air to land on a stack of papers. It automatically began to sign each one as it flew into a clean space on the table, creating another pile.

"One step closer." He muttered as he stretched.

_One step closer to what? _A voice that sounded a lot like Takibi's rang in his head. _Remember, I'm a wolf demon. I can hear things you say, even on the other side of the room. _Then the voice left and Takibi's steps resounded outside of his door. Jareth had stiffened, hearing his and grew very quiet and uncomfortable. 'What if she can read my thoughts?' He wondered to himself before standing. 'Better get ready for the guests tomorrow...'

''''''

"This castle is spotless, George. It's better then ours." A very high classed voice rang throughout the halls as a woman dressed heavily in layers of expenisve silk walked through the castle.

"It's fantastic, Jareth. How do you do it?" A man was escorting the woman down the hall by the arm.

These were the rulers of the nearby world, Haven. The world was a lot like England during America's revolution. The two rulers were rich, shown in their very high classed, layered, garments. Jareth, however, merely wore the pants he was so famous for and a loose white shirt overlapped with a black leather vest.

"Let's just say I have a couple of faithful servants that like to...clean shall we say." Jareth said, simply. He made no effort to make his accent thicker or higher like the others. He kept his voice moderate and never spoke louder then he needed to.

"I'd like to meat these servants, if you don't mind. I might buy them off of you." The Queen snickered a laugh, causing her husband to follow suit.

Jareth, however, didn't find this amusing and continued to walk. He really didn't like this couple, but he needed allies. The Underground stuck out like a sore thumb. The goblins couldn't fight, and he needed at least some protection from the surrounding kingdoms. So far, three had agreed to him and now patrolled the outskirts of the Labyrinth weekly. He'd feel much safer if they went daily, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"They aren't for sale." Jareth said simply as Takibi stepped next to Jareth and merely walked at the same pace. "This is Takibi." He introduced. "She's a pet..." He made a look that said 'play along'. Reluctantly, Takibi wagged her tail and cocked her head.

"She has a well kept coat, and looks seemingly spotless." Was all the Queen said. The King however, went over to Takibi to scratch behind her ears.

"She's a beaut," the King seemed overly pleased as he examined her teeth and eyes. "Her eyes are a bit dull, and she's looking a bit skinny. She might be lacking attention and isn't getting enough food." The king seemed to know a lot about dogs for he examined her again. "By golly." He looked her over once more. "She's a wolf!"

"George, get away from her, dear." The Queen said, fearfully.

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite." Jareth said calmly.

"Still, I don't want to risk it. She might have a disease." At this, Takibi growled. "See! She just growled at me!"

"She was offended by what you said. This wolf is different. She understands our language and has been with me for two years. She has never bitten anyone and I'm sure she has no disease." Jareth said, a bit cooly.

Takibi was confused. 'Did Jareth just stick up for me?' She wondered to herself as she continued to walk.

"Anyways." The Queen said, adding a 'humph' to Jareth's comment. "We're here to negotiate, aren't we?" She asked, flipping out her fan to blow air at her powdered face.

"Yes, and to enjoy a ball in a couple days." Jareth said, his back had stiffened slightly and he seemed to walk a bit funny.

"Ahh, shall we discuss privately?" The queen asked. Jareth nodded and led them into a room. He had shut Takibi out but she sat attentively at the door. She heard more doors close and she couldn't hear anymore.

Sighing, she laid down and fell asleep.

She was awoken by a sharp pain in her side. Her eyes snapped open and she found that the Queen was nudging her with the very sharp point of her shoe. The King was trying to gain control of his wife, muttering things about how short a wolf had patience and that they felt pain too. Takibi yelped, at that moment as the tip buried itself into her skin and beyond her ribs. She jumped to her feet, bleeding from where the shoe had been.

"Oh, so it is awake." The queen merely shrugged as she passed by the now wounded wolf.

Jareth quickly went over towards Takibi once the others had left. He healed her wounds and straightened before jerking his head to the side. She sighed and followed Jareth as they caught up with the royal couple in front of them. Her eyes narrowed with hatred towards the Queen. The King didn't seem as spoiled as the Queen so she held her loathing towards her instead.

Jareth paused slightly as they passed the throne room. Takibi could take a hint and left them to go to the 'pit' in the center of the throne room that had been asigned to her as her 'bed'. She sighed and laid down, curling into a ball before falling asleep.

She awoke to a slight shove, not enough to hurt. She opened her eyes sleepily to find Jareth staring back at her. She stretched before sitting up, acting as if she was paying attention to Jareth as he began to speak.

"Look." He began, kneeling in front of her. "The ball is in two days. I need someone to dance with and I really rather it not be anyone other then you. Not that that means anything, it's just that...I'm suppose to be looking for a wife. The Counsel has decided that all kings must have a wife or else their kingdom gets taken away. All the Fae woman out there that could even be possible in being my wife are all idiots and rather stupid." He explained, under his breath.

Takibi had fullen awoken and was staring at him with narrowed eyes. Yet they widened slightly as his words sunk in. _I'll dance with you, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be anyone's wife. _She told him in his head. She didn't say no, but she didn't say yes either. She figured that even if she did marry Jareth her life would be the same. If she didn't marry him, they would have an idiot in second in command of the entire Underground. She could already imagine a mall where the Bog of Eternal Stench had once been. She shuddered, she didn't want that to happen.

"Good, but you have to think about becoming my wife." Jareth said, almost desperately. It was obvious he didn't want an idiot in second in command either and almost looked like a puppy begging.

_I'll think about it, Jareth. No promises._ She told him, laying back down to fall asleep. Jareth ruffled her head, he had never touched her before. Well...When she was a servant at least. She sighed and curled into a ball before falling asleep.

She awoke, once more, to Jareth staring back at her. He began to walk away and she followed, knowing that he had something to say. _What? _ She asked him. _Just think something, I'll be able to hear what you think since I've opened up a a mind link. _She explained.

_We need to make you, as a wolf, disappear and have you, as a human, appear._ He thought to her, looking around before pushing her into an empty room filled with seamstresses that were obviously from a different kingdom. _I'm not going to watch you shift back, but you need to choose a ball gown for the ball._ He explained. _And you can't be a wolf for a while. _With that, he left the suprised wolf alone.

She sighed and morphed into her human form. The seamstresses seemed quite use to this and began to hold up pieces of cloth to her skin and began to ask questions. She merely answered them as best as she could, she really wasn't happy at the moment. But at the back of her mind, she felt excitement.

**The Ball**

It was an hour before the ball. Takibi was getting dressed, the seamstresses poking her with pins and what not as she admired herself in the mirror. A corset, which labored her breathing quite a bit, was tied tightly around her. A black dress, with no sleeves that clipped to the corset as to not fall down, not that it would with her bust, clung to her curves and flared out at the waist slightly. The dress wasn't exactly her choosing, but she had to deal with what she had.

The skirt hung from her waist, yet it would flare out once the dancing began. With each twist, the skirt would lift itself slightly to reveal a dark red material underneath. The dress was made of silk. Jareth wanted her to look at least a bit rich as to please the members of the Counsel. The Counsel were a group of kings and queens that held rule to the magical kingdoms. Earth was not one of these.

The Counsel was seated behind a large elegant table in the ball room. Jareth's seat was at the center, Takibi's right next to him while the rest of the Counsel branched out to their left and right. Takibi was rather nervous to meet the Counsel. They would watch her every move, to be fit if she could be Jareth's queen. She sighed, closing her eyes tightly as the seamstresses fussed with her hair.

'I don't know if I want to be the queen or not. It would be for the better good of the Underground. I'll make sure no changes would happen to the Underground and I'll just live my normal life of cleaning after that. No differences. Surely no love or any romance just a ring around my finger and having the title of Queen...' She sighed and rubbed her forehead, a seamstress hissed for Takibi had rubbed a bit of powder off. But it wasn't noticeable. The makeup on her face was few and it was only skin tones instead of white or a bright pink or something insane like that.

"It's time, Takibi." Jareth called from outside. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard his voice. Her eyes narrowed and she sighed.

The seamstresses pulled out their pins and did a finishing touch to her hair which was pulled into an elegant bun. Wisps of hair fell out of place to carress her face and add a touch of her personality. She sighed and opened the door. She found that Jareth was wearing a rather spectacular suit with blue beads and sparkles here and there. His jacket held a low cut, a piece of ruffled cloth filled the missing place as well as a black opal attached to a piece of cloth wrapped around his neck.

"You look extroadinary." Jareth said, and it was obvious he meant it as he offered her his arm.

"You do too." She said, fighting back a blush, for there was nothing to blush about was there? She slowly took his arm and he led her down a flight of stairs and into a large room filled with dancers and tables. She saw that most of the Counsel had been seated, they were talking to themselves but quickly stopped when Jareth led Takibi over and pulled back her seat for her.

She sat down, watching her plate which was lined with gold on the expensive laced table cloth. She felt every one of the Counsel's eyes on her as she straightened and tried to look polite as Jareth sat next to her. Once the two sat down, food appeared on the plates. Everyone had different types of food. It seemed that the plates held each persons favorite dish. Takibi had Steak, mashed potatoes, and cooked asparagus. Everyone else held rich foods from different places. Jareth had a strange looking meat with an equally strange looking black vegetable.

A couple of the Counsel memebers were looking at her steak as if it was from outer space. Yet Takibi was looking the exact same as she looked at what they had. Slowly they began to eat. Takibi smiled as she went back home as she took a bite out of her steak. When she finished, she found that some of the Counsel members were looking at her approvingly. She had managed not to get food on her lap, and she seemed to have eaten politely in their minds.

Jareth was talking, rather arguing, with a Counsel member who sat beside him. They were arguing on which colors looked best against a woman's skin. Takibi held her hand to her mouth to stiffle a laugh. Both of them stopped to look at her. Jareth seemed a bit red at the cheeks and the Counsel member was blushing rather badly.

"No worries. My dad use to do the same thing." She told them while she sipped her drink. She blinked when she found it was Apple Juice that looked a lot like wine. Again, the counsel members looked approvingly. They all had wine.

"Interesting trick." Jareth whispered in her ear, she almost dropped her glass as he had spoken. "I believe it's time for us to dance."

The two stood up. Takibi really didn't know how to dance as he led her out onto the floor. She seemed uncomfortable but Jareth merely smiled as he put a hand on her waist and took her other hand in his. She unconsciously placed her free hand on his shoulder as he led her into a dance she couldn't place a name on. Once more the Counsel members watched the two. When they saw Takibi follow easily and not step on Jareth's feet, they relaxed and began to talk. Takibi had a feeling they were talking about them.

When they finished dancing, she felt Jareth bring her in close. She looked up at him and he looked down at her before his eyes glanced towards the Counsel. She opened up a mind link. _We have to convince them..._ And with that, his kissed her so passionately that she fell against him. The only thing holding her up was the kiss and him holding her close. She heard a Counsel member speak to his freind.

"Are they ever going to stop? It's been almost five minutes..." He muttered, his companion merely chuckled.

Jareth finally let her go, he smiled slightly and Takibi couldn't help but smile back before he led her over towards the Counsel table but didn't sit. He had an arm around Takibi's waist and was holding her rather close as he whispered something into one of the member's ear. The man nodded and Jareth led her out of the ball room and towards the room that Takibi had once had, nine years ago.

"This is your room, for now. You don't have to work for a while, I want you to think about...Being my queen." He said, facing her.

She nodded and he brought her into another kiss before he was gone. She blinked slightly before opening her 'new' room. She plopped herself on the bed with a rather giddy smile on her face before she undressed and buried herself deep under the covers before falling asleep.

AN: Yeah, I guess you could see there is two chapters in this one...Sort of. Thank you, everyone, for your reviews


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry it's been so long. What has it been, two years?

It was a week later when she had decided. Jareth had pretty much left her alone, staying to himself in the throne room while she took walks throughout the Labyrinth. She had been there long enough to know the paths of the Labyrinth. Yes, they did change over time, but in the most predictable ways. The King and Queen of Haven had left after an agreement. Once a week they would come and on a day that they chose.

Takibi hadn't really paid close attention to any of it. She had kept to herself for the most part, traveling throughout the Labyrinth and avoiding the Bog of Eternal Stench. It was a day like this, pondering whether she should marry him or not, that she finally decided. Of course there was not going to be any love or romance, Jareth had simply kissed her to try and convince her, nothing more and nothing less.

The day she had decided was the same day that a neighboring kingdom decided to attack. Not all of the kingdoms were willing to follow the Counsel's ridiculous rules. Those who opposed the Counsel had bound themselves together and were in the process of taking over the kingdoms in allegiance with the Counsel. The Labyrinth was the first kingdom on their list.

She had been on her way back to tell Jareth her decision when they attacked. She had heard the shouts of the enemy soldiers as they ran throughout the Labyrinth. They knew where they were going. She knew this because she saw them not too far down the path that she was on. Immediately she turned into a wolf, sprinting as fast as she could towards the Castle. She took every booby trapped filled path, knowing where they were and avoiding them easily.

They avoided them easily as well. She had just managed to lead them right towards the castle, not like they hadn't already known. She made her way through the gates, yelling to the goblins, telepathically, to shut the gates. They did, surprisingly. She ran up the steps and into the castle. She could hear Jareth ordering goblins about in the Throne Room before she entered.

"I had a feeling this would happen." Jareth growled, moving over towards the window as he gazed out. "I knew they would attack." He grumbled, a crystal forming between his fingers. "It won't be long before they're through the gates."

She had turned back into a human, moving beside him. She didn't say anything for a moment before a flame appeared in her palm. She held it up for Jareth to see.

"You could conjure up beasts, be creative, make them monsters that can destroy them. They have guns, but not magic." She said, pointing towards the mass amounts of men in the Land of Garbage, each carrying an automatic rifle. "I can blow them up."

"Yes, but their guns will simply take my beasts down." He muttered.

"Think of Sarah." She said, looking over towards him. She didn't know why, but it pained her to say that. She ignored it and continued. "She wouldn't want the Labyrinth to fall. Think of her, kill these men."

He glanced towards her before nodding. A group of crystals formed in his hand. He allowed them to float off towards the gate, landing before it. They formed into large rhino like creatures, mechanical and organic at the same time. Steam blowed from their nostrils, red eyes glaring towards the gates, horns at the ready. Takibi had left his side and had moved to stand in between the beasts. There were about five of them.

It wasn't long before the gates were blown open. The beasts took off, killing many of the men in their path. They didn't stop. The men that did get through where instantly thrown back by fireballs. More crystals came, and therefore more beasts. They were winning, even against automatic rifles. They were winning.

The crystals were slowly stopping, Jareth was getting tired. Fireballs were beginning to loose their power, Takibi was getting tired. There was still a fight going on, still men to kill. The beasts were still fighting. A couple had fallen. Takibi could see it all. She could see the dying men, the dead bodies. She had killed some of them. She was horrified, yet knew she had to keep killing or else she was next.

The bloodshed that laid before her would burn into her memory. She wouldn't forget the deaths she had caused, the destruction she had made. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. Yet she knew that this was out of self defense, she knew that she had to do this, that if she didn't, she would die. She thought of the Labyrinth, the Goblins, and Jareth. If she did not fight, he would die, the goblins would die, and the Labyrinth would fall.

The men towards the front, only a few left, had turned away from the beasts and turned towards Takibi. They sent a rain of bullets in her direction, finally getting smart. They had ignored her, and as a result when most of the men charged through, they had been killed. They had stopped ignoring her and had made her their central target.

She, not having had bullets shot at her before, was taken by surprise. She dove towards one of the goblin's houses, falling just short of the door. Searing hot pain tore through her side and knee. She dragged herself the rest of the way, closing the door behind her and rolling onto her back inside. The pain was immense. She couldn't think, couldn't concentrate on anything. Blood was pouring from her wounds and she slowly felt herself drift off into unconsciousness.

Jareth watched from his window, he saw her fall. He simply stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do or think. The men, shouting as they ran towards the castle, brought him back to reality. There wasn't that many left, perhaps a dozen or so. He had enough energy for one more crystal. If he used that crystal he wouldn't be able to heal Takibi, to be able to save her from her wounds. If he didn't use the crystal, the kingdom would fall.

He was stuck. He didn't know if he should save the woman he planned to marry, for political reasons, or if he should save his kingdom. Part of him wanted to rush to her side and part of him did not wish to give up the status of King. Her words, "she wouldn't want the Labyrinth to fall," rang through his ears.

He closed his eyes and threw the crystal towards the men below.


	7. Chapter 7

Jareth stood, his head bowed and quiet, to the funeral procession below. He stood on the balcony overlooking the Goblin city below. This wasn't the first funeral procession to be held here on the Labyrinth's grounds, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. He gazed at a particular coffin, smirking slightly as he remembered the being that was placed inside. It was with deep regret that he would never see them again.

It didn't matter.

He turned sharply, walking back to his throne and sitting, his leg resting comfortably on the arm. His gloved finger rubbed his lower lip as he thought, staring at the empty throne room before him. He didn't look towards the door as a shadow approached him. When a hand rested gently on his shoulder he found himself being drawn back to reality. He looked up towards Takibi, her eyes showed how exhausted she was and how in pain she really was.

"You should be in bed." He said, frowning when his voice cracked slightly. He hadn't spoken in a long time, nor had had any water. "You should be resting."

"I wanted to watch." She said softly, looking towards the window.

Jareth stood, taking her arm and pulling her back towards her room. She tore it away, limping over towards the balcony and resting her hands on the railing as she looked down below. Jareth frowned, following her and standing behind her. The small silver coffins below were placed into carefully dug graves not far from the castle's step. Those were the small bodies of the goblins who had given their lives.

"Perhaps..." she said slowly, staring at the coffins slowly being buried, "they wouldn't have been killed if I had tried harder." She shook her head slightly and sighed. "What's done is done..."

Jareth stared at her for a moment, looking away to look back towards the funeral below. He didn't say anything, his hands behind his back, one hand clutching the crop he often carried around with him. He sighed and turned around, walking back to the throne and sitting down.

"Go back to bed and rest." He ordered, waving his hand in a careless manner.

"You know, I decided." She said, ignoring his order as she turned to him. "I decided about whether I should marry you or not. I decided on yes." She walked over towards him, standing in front of him. "It's for the Kingdom. I know you only brought me here because I reminded you of Sarah."

"That's not at all true." He said immediately, looking directly at her. "That's not why I brought you here."

"No...I'm sure you'll find that I'm right." She said, shrugging slightly as she stopped in front of him not too far away from him. "It doesn't matter. I want to stay here, it's better then being at home."

He frowned, shaking his head slowly. Yet, as he thought about it, he found that her words were true. She did remind him so much of Sarah. He knew she was different, that was why he liked her so. She was her own person, independent and willing. He rubbed his lower lip once more, eyes watching her closely before he spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you have accepted to be my Queen." He said softly, thinking carefully to himself. "When do you wish for the wedding to be held?"

"Whenever is best for you." She responded casually.

She sounded as if she had thought it all out but didn't care if her plans were changed. She seemed mellow, as she usually did, but he found that it bothered him. He had seen the real Takibi at the ball. That spark of life that had filled her when she walked into that room. She had seemed like a perfectly different person. He remembered the feeling of her lips against his, and felt longing for it, but didn't say anything about it.

"Perhaps in a month?" He asked curiously, "perhaps the seventeenth?"

"That sounds perfect." She said, looking at him without a smile. "I'll work on preparations so you can relax."

As she turned to leave, Jareth found himself wanting to keep her around. He wanted to speak to her.

"You do remind me of Sarah." He admitted, watching her curiously for her reaction. "I want you to stay around, but not because you remind me of her. I saw the real you at the ball." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I did not kiss you solely for the purpose to convince the Council. I find you attractive..."

Her face had turned slightly red as she watched him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, he felt slightly embarassed himself as he waited for a response.

"I...well...I find you attractive too...umm..." She was obviously at a loss of what to say.

He smiled slightly and stood, walking over towards her and taking her hand and leading her out of the room. He led her to the kitchen and sat down across from her.

"I'll help you prepare for the wedding."

AN: Still thinking of what to do...


End file.
